Israel
New ‘development’ in investigation: Shin Bet
There is a new “development” in the investigation into an arson attack that killed three members of a Palestinian family, the Shin Bet security service announced on Sunday after protests by right-wing Jews. The protests were in the wake of last week’s Israeli Supreme Court ruling that three of the Jewish suspects arrested in connection with the attack could be prevented from seeing their attorneys, which the Shin Bet said could harm the investigation.
ANT KATZ
No other details were disclosed by the Israeli media, since a gag order has been placed on the investigation. But the announcement of a new development in the investigation of the attack, which is believed to have been perpetrated by extremist Jewish terrorists, came on Sunday amid accusations that several Jewish suspects had been physically abused during interrogations.
The three are being held without formal charges in administrative detention, a practice generally limited to terror cases. The Shin Bet responded late last week to the torture charges saying in a statement that the suspects were not tortured, but rather were “interrogated in an intensive way with regards to the suspicions against them”.
OUT OF THE ASHES: A baby picture of 18-month-old Ali Dawabsheh who, with his parents, Saad and Reham, died in the July 31 firebombing. The only surviving family member is four-year-old Ahmed who is still being treated in an Israeli hospital
Israel’s Supreme Court ruled last week that three of those arrested in connection with the attack could be prevented from seeing their attorneys, which the Shin Bet said could harm the investigation.
It is not clear how many suspects have been detained for alleged involvement in the terror attack. According to Haaretz, at least four of the detained are citizens not just of Israel but of English-speaking countries. One has Australian citizenship, while the other three have US citizenship.
On Saturday night, over 500 right-wing activists demonstrated outside the Jerusalem home of Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen, in protest against what they called the torture of the suspects.
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